Toro Rosso was the first team to show their car in flesh on the first day at Jerez in testing. It’s the STR10 and is the 10th car produced by Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso had a very mixed season in 2014, with Kvyat’s fire in Germany and Vergne’s 6th place in America. This team can produce some brilliant cars. With James Key now being there a high element of ideas from his Sauber days has engulfed the STR10, one being the very narrow sidepods.
On the front of the nose inside there would be a small thumb section, but on the SRT10 they have blended it into the nose, making it more aerodynamic. This is a nice touch and not only makes the car aesthetically pleasing but drag levels are reduced too. although it’s very minor. Again the vanity panel is blended to meet the nose cone structure.
The nose and chassis are more rounded compared to its other competitors. This will feed more air flow over the car to the top of the role hoop inlet. But this isn’t completely finalised as of yet. The car seemed to be unstable in fast cornering, which means the angels and geometry may be slightly out.
The sloping upper profile of the monocoque is seemingly identical to the shape of the monocoque of the STR9. This gives the car a very aerodynamic approach which produces very little drag in the process.
Looking at the front suspension it has very angled upper and lower wishbones from the chassis to the brake duct. Which may upset the aerodynamics a little, but will boast better mechanical grip on the car.
Their front wing is a multi element design. Boasting three mainplanes of which are mounted onto the footplate and endplate. This is a nice design as it can be tagged back for low drag and they can add a cascade unit for more downforce.
Onto the central section of the car and we come across the very famous “L” vertical vane flanks that collect the tyre wake and stop it from interrupting with the airflow that goes over the cars bodywork.
On the role hoop you can see a huge inlet, the biggest of all the 2015 challengers. This is to feed a plenum on top of the engine as well as help cool oil and water coolers in the sidepod. Also in the sidepod floor structure you can see a small inlet which is to help cool the oil for the gearbox.
The rear body work is very sleek. It’s the tightest coke bottle of the 2015 grid. Its supper tight and will house a very well packaged Renault PU. Renault claim to have gained a lot in engine performance as well as ERS. So have built on the floor of the engine as well as on top of the engine bank, therefore giving the SRT10 narrow sidepods.
Looking onto the rear of the car you can see the three-dimensional rear wing. The louvres increase the tree dimensional shape by allowing air to pass through them and therefore change the pressure of the inner and outer edges of the endplate. This helps aid in rear downforce as it works in conjunction with the diffuser.
The SRT10 also houses is small “saddle” monkey seat on the rear wing pylon. This accelerates the gasses from the tail pipe and therefore gives the car some extra rear downforce. This replaces the rear beam wing that was banned for 2014.
The Toro Rosso STR10 is a very good foundation for a brilliant car. If the Renault engine performs well they should have a successful season, as long as the junior drivers aren’t too ragged.
Image Courtesy of Scuderia Toro Rosso
